These equipment don't come cheap. Cameras, sensors, and other surveillance tools can cost thousands of dollars and sometimes prove inefficient.
An Army Ranger has teamed up with an MIT student to provide a low cost solution to first responders to recognize and oversee an unknown area without actually entering it.
The concept consists of attaching cameras and other sensors to a baseball sized ball. The ball is then thrown into a room. During this time, the ball will take snapshots with the six cameras attached throughout the surface while at the same time measure air quality, temperature, radiation level, and other invisible hazardous materials. The results are then sent to a mobile device which the user can view at a glance.
TIME has recognized this as one of the best inventions of 2012 and has put an approximate price tag of only $500 for this device.
While this is still a concept and in the testing stages, it does show real promise for becoming a standardized equipment for first respondents and other officials.
